After finishing off Miriya's face with his fire powers, Cirler Oakrun moved on to the next victim. This time, his targets were Bilbo Baggins and Ori Brandybuck. They were both quite close to him so they were easy targets for his powers. He sent several blasts of flames toward the door before slamming his hand against it. It flew open and crashed against the wall harshly, causing Bilbo and Ori to turn their heads toward the noise. Bilbo let out a high pitched scream before sprinting away from Ori as fast as his feet could carry him. Cirler followed closely behind him, sending fire after him until the hobbit managed to get away and into an alleyway, leaving him alone for the moment. Cirler let out a satisfied chuckle before turning around and heading straight for Ori, grabbing him by the throat and pinning him against the wall harshly with the force of his fire magic.
"You will not run away from me! I have waited too damn long." Cirler snarled angrily. Ori struggled against his grip, gasping for breath. He was crying, clearly terrified. "Where is she?!" He demanded furiously. Ori whimpered.
"S-she's gone! They took her!" Ori stuttered. Cirler narrowed his eyes dangerously as he clenched tighter around Ori's neck.
"WHERE IS SHE?!" He screeched out loud. Ori coughed as he gasped for air, clawing weakly at Cirler's arm. Tears streamed from his eyes as he stared wide-eyed up at the older dwarf.
"I-it's all my fault! Th-they're after me!" Ori pleaded desperately.
"YOU KNOW WHO STOLE HER?" Cirler roared. Ori whimpered.
"N-no, no, don't kill me please." He begged, tears dripping down his cheeks and landing on the floor.
"TELL ME!" He yelled again, squeezing Ori's neck tighter. Ori cried out in pain as he choked, tears pouring down his face more rapidly. His feet kicked against the wall as he tried to free himself from his friend's grasp. But he was losing too much blood and he couldn't take anymore damage. He could barely breathe. Finally, he gave up and collapsed to the floor, unable to fight anymore.
Cirler released him and watched as he rolled around for a minute before crawling backward. He whimpered as he held onto his stomach, trying to catch his breath while coughing uncontrollably.
"You will tell me. I don't care how long it takes. Do you understand?! TELL ME!" Cirler Oakrun yelled once again.
"They took her. They took Mama!" Ori said shakily between coughs. "They took her t-to the camp! She's dead..." He whispered tearfully.
"Where? Where?" Cirler repeated, stepping closer to Ori.
"G-Gilraen...Burglar..." Ori replied through gritted teeth as he continued to choke.
"Gimli. That's her name isn't it?" Cirler asked. He nodded weakly. "How far from the camp is it? Can you describe it?" He asked, tilting his head to the side curiously. He was curious about what had happened to Miriya. Something had to've happened to cause such a reaction. And if Bilbo and Ori knew anything then perhaps they could give him some answers as well. It would be better to ask questions after all, right?
"Mama's tent. Not far from here, a bit. We had to pass by the road leading down to the forest because she couldn't walk very good after yesterday. Then she told us to go to this spot that she knew would lead to the clearing and the camp where we were staying. And it was so dark and we had to wait for her to come back." Ori explained shakily, still shaking violently.
"So...you're saying it's not far at all?" Cirler asked in confusion. He glanced back outside briefly before looking back down at Ori who was lying on the floor, barely breathing. "Is that true? Is that really where they took her?" He asked again. Ori shook his head quickly, eyes still shut tightly.
"She must've gotten out somehow. They won't hurt her if she's still there…" He murmured faintly.
"Are you sure?" Cirler asked gently, crouching down so that he was less towering over the trembling hobbit. "What if they hurt her anyway?"
"I don't know!" Ori moaned.
"Alright, alright. You just sit tight for a minute. I'll go find her and then I'll return with some help. How does that sound?" He asked soothingly. Ori blinked up at him tiredly and nodded hesitantly. Cirler stood back up and headed for the exit, disappearing outside.
A few minutes later he came running back inside, carrying two swords, one in each hand.
"Here." He said, handing one sword to Bilbo. "You stay put. I want you to defend yourself when I say so." Bilbo frowned at him.
"Why? Why should I?" He protested nervously.
"Because she needs you. Just trust me. I promise that I will take good care of you. And your brother."
Bilbo looked up at Cirler uncertainly before reluctantly taking the sword and sheathing it.